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Technology (Apple) Businesses Technology Apple

Mac mini's New Friend 142

Posted by Hemos from the rolling-out dept.
Thijs van As writes "The miniMate, MicroNet's new external disk drive and port replicator, is created specifically to complement Apple's new Mac mini. With available storage up to 400GB, 4 USB 2.0 ports and 3 FireWire ports, the miniMate extends the capabilities of the Mac mini. Looks impressive if you ask me."
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Mac mini's New Friend More

Mac mini's New Friend

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  • Cute (Score:3, Interesting)

    by MindStalker ( 22827 ) <mindstalker@gmai ... com minus distro> on Monday April 25, 2005 @09:06AM (#12336013) Journal
    Cute, but can you also connect it to a PC given the right formatting?

  • 3 Firewire and 4 USB ports? (Score:5, Informative)

    by theWrkncacnter ( 562232 ) * on Monday April 25, 2005 @09:07AM (#12336024)
    That's slightly misleading, since you have to use one of each of those to connect the unit to the mac mini and use those ports as a hub. Still seems pretty neat though. 2 firewire ports can be very handy.

    • Retro (Score:4, Insightful)

      by HTH NE1 ( 675604 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @11:01AM (#12337291)
      It's only misleading if you don't assume it has to attach to the Mac somehow. It doesn't claim to be a Bluetooth or WiFi network-attached hard drive. Also, one of the USB ports is a USB B port, so that one could only be used one way: to attach to the computer.

      But then they could have designed a proprietary harness port and a special cable with a connector for that port on one end and USB and Firewire on the other if you'd preferred. It would raise the price though.

      I like how its under-the-computer design resembles Mac hard drives of old [mac512.com].

      But someone's going to have to get one, open it up, and see if it is possible to swap in normal internal drives and what type of drive it uses, e.g. serial or parallel ATA, desktop or laptop.
      • I like how its under-the-computer design resembles Mac hard drives of old.

        And Mac printers of old. The LaserWriter II was designed to look nice sitting atop a Mac II (or IIx or IIfx)
      • Since they're offering a 7200rpm 250GB drive+enclosure+hubs for $250, I'm going to assume the drives are 3.5" desktop type drives. I don't think they mention EIDE or SATA, but I would imagine that, since the USB or Firewire connection will probably be the speed bottleneck, the drives are probably the cheaper parallel type instead of serial.
      • Now all we need is someone to build a retro looking top part to sit on top of it with a portrait LCD inside that the mini slides into. Perhaps it could have a handle on top, and we'd have a mac classic. Actually not a bad idea for people who just need it for typing.

    • Re: 3 Firewire and 4 USB ports? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by gidds ( 56397 ) <slashdot&gidds,me,uk> on Monday April 25, 2005 @02:20PM (#12339590) Homepage
      So the unit has 3 FireWire ports, of which one has to be connected to the Mac; leaving two. But don't you also lose one of the Mac's own ports too, at the other end of the cable? So the net gain is only one extra port available?
      • It's sacrificing one port for two....and an external hard drive that would usually take up another port, so it's like getting three for one, i.e. a +2 gain when you count the hard drive as a device.
      • You're right, of course. It's not really a big issue though. Most firewire devices also have an extra port for pass-through. The only FW device I have without a pass through is my DV camera. Even with a single FW port on my powerbook, I still have an external drive, external DVD burner, and DV cam - all hooked up and running at the same time.

        • Oh. I only use two FireWire devices -- my iPod dock, and a CF reader -- and neither have pass-through. OTOH, I used to have a CD writer, which did have it, so maybe I've just been unlucky in that respect.
      • Yes, but you are using one logically - you've got the HD connected through the cable to the Mini. So, it's like daisy-chaining.

  • crappy cable options ... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by torpor ( 458 ) <ibisum@@@gmail...com> on Monday April 25, 2005 @09:08AM (#12336034) Homepage Journal
    .. they went to all that work to make an extender box for the mac mini, and ship 'standard' firewire/usb cables .. 7" and 9" long, respectively.

    pfft. if they were a real Apple accessory company, this box'd have its own little, short, 'smart'-looking cables which are neat enough, and only long enough, to stretch from mac mini port to hub port.

    niggly point, but a point nevertheless. if i'm going to buy one of these things for my mac mini, i want it to be -neat- and not end up promoting ratsnest cable propagation ..
    • I was thinking the same thing.

      I wonder how long it'll be until somebody offers a replacement case for the Mini thats big enough to accommodate a desktop size hard drive and maybe even an optical drive too (so you can utilize cheaper and faster, albeit noisier, 3.5" and 5.25" drives.) It won't be as mini as the Mini itself, but it might be cool! Heck, if they make it roomy enough, maybe it could fit the Mini's power brick inside too.
    • The cable length would be to accomodate those people connecting this to computers other than a Mac mini. That, and it saves on higher production costs that would end up severely limiting their potential market.
    • Exactly. Note also the position of the ports. If this device had been designed by someone with a brain, the second FireWire port from the right would have been the USB-upstream port. They would then have included a rigid clip that connected the two ports on the Mini to the two on the Mate, eliminating the needs for cables. Ideally, they would have also provided a similar solution for power to the Mac Mini (as a take-off from this device's PSU), so it didn't need any extra cables at all.
    • and ship 'standard' firewire/usb cables .. 7" and 9" long, respectively.

      I've *never* seen 7" or 9" USB/FireWire cables, ever. I'm sure they exist, but I wouldn't call them "standard". Standard is something like 2m and .5m.

      pfft. if they were a real Apple accessory company, this box'd have its own little, short, 'smart'-looking cables which are neat enough, and only long enough, to stretch from mac mini port to hub port.

      Which is fine, until the first time you try to pick up your Mac mini and you find yo
    • It is pretty telling that all of the photos they show have no cables attached. Not even the Mac mini power and monitor cable.

      It would be neat if they had positioned the ports right under the expected Mac mini hookups, then made a special bridge adapter. It might also be a good idea for the next version to put one or two of the Firewire/USB ports on the front of the box for digital cameras.

      Oh well. It's pretty good, but I wouldn't call it great...

  • Imagine... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by lowmagnet ( 646428 ) <eli DOT sarver AT gmail DOT com> on Monday April 25, 2005 @09:18AM (#12336115) Homepage
    A daisy-chain of these! (note: not a beowulf cluster) It would be similar to a Navi brick system. I still want some sort of expandable bus standard. It sure would be great to add a video card by pluggin in an expansion brick. Unfortunately the RFI involved in external cables and the shielding required make this difficult.

  • Pricing (Score:5, Informative)

    by telbij ( 465356 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @09:27AM (#12336239)
    From the website:

    MM80 $149.00
    MM160 $179.00
    MM250 $249.00
    MM400 $499.00

    As much as I like the form factor I would have a real hard time buying one of these, but if I did it would have to be the 250. Can you stack 'em and get an extra 100GB + twice the ports for $500?

    • Re:Pricing (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Zemrec ( 158984 )
      I have a problem with those prices too.

      I just bought a Mini 9 days ago, and wanted an external firewire drive too. None of the locally available stores sold bare FW enclosures, and their prices on pre-installed ones were ridiculous.

      I was able to pick up a bare 250 GB, 7200 RPM, 8 MB cache Maxtor drive for $107.50 (clearance at Staples) and then had to order a bare enclosure at Newegg ($31). Saved a bundle going that route, although the bay admittedly doesn't look as cool as this one.

      Too bad they specific
    • As much as I like the form factor I would have a real hard time buying one of these, but if I did it would have to be the 250. Can you stack 'em and get an extra 100GB + twice the ports for $500?

      I don't see why not. The Mac mini has 1 firewire + 2USB ports. Assuming 1 USB port is used for keyboard/mouse, that means you can connect 2 directly to your Mac mini. Additionally, each of these "Mini Mates" has 2 extra firewire ports and 3 extra USB ports, so I don't see any reason why you couldn't chain them.

      • Re:Pricing (Score:4, Interesting)

        by greed ( 112493 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @10:31AM (#12336873)
        Yup; there is a limit to the number of hubs you can have in either a USB or a FireWire chain, so you'd want to connect, say, 1 Mini Mate right to the computer, then 2 more Mini Mates to the first Mini Mate.

        Now, for even more fun, don't worry so much about the ports, and have a chain of USB-only Mini Mates, and a second chain of FireWire-only Mini Mates.

        Each FireWire-only Mini Mate can have two further Mini Mates plugged into it, up to the FireWire hub limit.

        And each USB-only Mini Mate can have three further Mini Mates plugged into it, up to the USB 2.0 hub limit.

        Say you go 3 levels deep on each; so you'll have 27 open USB 2.0 ports (not counting the second one on the Mini itself), 8 open FireWire ports, and a total of 20 Mini Mates... giving you 1.6 TB to 8.0 TB of additional storage. (This was a bit more than I can count on my fingers, so I could be off a bit....)

        If you really want a bunch of FireWire or USB ports, you might want to think about just getting one or two Mini Mates and a couple of hubs...

      • firewire can be chained, as well. So plug in one mini mate, and from that plug in one or two more, etc.. :) I think there's a limit of 8 devices per firewire chain.. not sure on that though.

        (Note: you need to connect both to get the hub functionality of that protocol, but only one if you want the HD and/or only one protocol. So, if you only care about USB, hook up only USB. Might as well hook up firewire as well since it's probably better for high speed HD's, and even if it's not (it's debateable), if

        • Re:Pricing (Score:3, Informative)

          by Mattintosh ( 758112 )
          Firewire has a limit of 63 devices(additional devices... the computer would be a 64th device) per bus. USB has a limit of 127, not including the host controller (the computer, which would make the total 128).
          • I realize the topic's likely dead, but could you clarify if this is correct, if you read this:

            USB has a global limit of 127. Firewire has a limit of 63 per bus. That is.. you can daisy chain 63 firewire devices, if you had two firewire ports on your computer, depending on how it was setup internally, ou could have 126 devices.

            USB, however, does not support daisy chaining.. each hub will NOT support 127 devices, as far as I know?
            • Your post is mostly correct. The only thing wrong is that USB does not have a global limit of 127 devices. Each bus supports that many devices.

              On Apple systems, there are 2 USB ports on the back of the machine, and they're both on the same bus. Hooked into those two ports (via lots and lots of hubs), you can have 127 devices (numbered internally as 1 to 127, the computer would be device 0, so there is technically a total of 128 devices).

              On PC's, USB ports are usually more plentiful. They generally come in
      • Imagine everytime a Dell Dimension comes out with a new version with higher capacity becomes slashdot news. This is NOT news.

  • cute-oh! (Score:2, Funny)

    by splatterboy ( 815820 )
    Kawaiiiii! Guess I know what the girlfriend is going to want for her birthday... sigh. The new 15" Pbook finds yet another obstacle.

    Geek girlfriends kill you one accessory at a time.
  • This is almost what I want. After using my Mini for a while I decided I wanted a base that had front and rear USB and FW ports and a headphone jack front and rear. Not that I need to use a million devices at once but it'd be nice to just leave things plugged in.

    The mini has two USB and one FireWire port and I have a DV camera (FW), a DV bridge (FW), an external HD (FW), an iPod (FW), keyboard (USB), USB hub built into my monitor (USB), and a card reader (USB) for my digital camera. Messing with the close
    • I just use a self-powered USB hub connected to my KVM so I can share all my USB devices with all my computers. Although of course only the currently switched comp can use them.

      As for FW, I only need it for the Mini, and I have my new external drivebay connected to it, and my iPod chained off of that.

      Interestingly, when I turn the drivebay off, the iPod will still charge but it won't be seen by the Mac.
    • Yeah, in my view it misses the mark. The Mini is very compact; adding a hub for a couple of buses shouldn't double its size and cost nearly as much as the Mini itself.

      What the Mini really needs add-ons can't provide: a FASTER external bus type (FireWire800), not more ports. I like the Mini, but I just don't understand why Apple saddled a machine designed for external expansion with FireWire400. Unfortunately, USB 2.0 is woefully inadequate for mass storage.
      • What the Mini really needs add-ons can't provide: a FASTER external bus type (FireWire800), not more ports. I like the Mini, but I just don't understand why Apple saddled a machine designed for external expansion with FireWire400. Unfortunately, USB 2.0 is woefully inadequate for mass storage.

        they did this because they don't figure people are going to do any of that. they did this to compete with low priced pc's. my guess is that many mac mini purchases will be replacing pc's. my dad bought an emac on
    • Here's what I really want:

      Back:
      FireWire, USB, and 1/8" stereo miniplug inputs
      2 FireWire, 2-4 USB, and one 1/8" audio output
      - for permanent devices: DV bridge, FW HD, keyboard, stereo, etc.

      Front:
      same ports as back for portable devices: headphones, iPod, DV cam, CF card reader, etc.

      Optional:
      - hard drive
      - firewire-to-5.1 audio (like what griffin makes)

  • Trademark infringement? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by stereotree ( 828969 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @09:39AM (#12336360)
    As a law student, I see this in terms of how Apple's legal dept. might view this new "accessory" as infringing on their trademark in the Mac mini.

    Apple might have a case that the MiniMate infringes on the trademark it has established with the Mac mini on the grounds that it has copied its trade dress.

    Looking at the front of the machine, there are no markings on the Mac mini to let you know that it is an Apple product, whereas Micronet is emblazoned on the front of its MiniMate. If the Mac Mini is covered on top by the MiniMate or the pair are stacked in a rack/cabinet/cubbyhole, one might think that both boxes are made by Micronet, effectively causing a likelihood of confusion "or to deceive as to the...origin...of the goods." (this last language is taken straight out of Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act.)

    I know most /.'ers won't have this problem of confusion but I believe that the standard is according to some "reasonable person of the community" standard, and whether they would be confused by the trade dress...

    I think Apple went after a Chinese (or Taiwanese?) company a few years ago for its bondi blue iMac lookalike....but they seem to have a more favorable view of add-ons like this one that resemble the original product without performing the same functions (the huge iPod accessory market is further proof of their leniency to accessories that piggy-back off their designs without directly competing with them).

    • I think Apple went after a Chinese (or Taiwanese?) company a few years ago for its bondi blue iMac lookalike....but they seem to have a more favorable view of add-ons like this one that resemble the original product without performing the same functions (the huge iPod accessory market is further proof of their leniency to accessories that piggy-back off their designs without directly competing with them).

      As you say, Apple shouldn't have any problem with this. I'd rather they spend time putting more go

    • Re:Trademark infringement? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by peragrin ( 659227 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @09:53AM (#12336502)
      What your forgetting is that Apple promotes third party additions. With the special requirements of the Apple crowd(style, form, function, design) third party toys are a tough sell.

      Take a good look around ipod accessories. Heck even Radio Shack has them now. With such a name they probably didn't get Apple's approval, but if it match's Apple style closely enough Apple doesn't care.
    • I think Apple went after a Chinese (or Taiwanese?) company a few years ago for its bondi blue iMac lookalike.

      Apple went after two companies. One of them was e-Machine. In those cases, the look-a-likes were actually Intel PCs. In this case, Apple may simply ask Micronet to change their design a little more to distinguish it. But I agree with you that they probably won't stop it from being sold.

    • Are you kidding? This isn't a computer, it's a peripheral. It doesn't compete with the Mini, it enhances it, and if anything it would increase sales of the Mini. In fact, the design and limited number of ports of the Mini scream "accessorize me", and I'm sure Apple did that on purpose in order to create a new market. Apple loves these kind of add-ons.

      You'll do great as a lawyer, just stay out of marketing :-)

    • The shape of the hard drive accessory is functional as it reduces the foot print of the hard drive to match the same shape as the mini mac. Trade dress cannot be functional. Coca Cola bottles can be trade dress because the shape of the bottle is not functional and the coca cola shape is a distinctive shape. A rectangular shaped hard drive enclosure does not in itself show that Apple made it as hard drives were often enclosed in rectangular boxes. There aren't that many alternatives. Some companies have trad
      • I recall seeing some stress testing showing the shape of the coke botle actually makes it stronger than conventional bottle shapes. Not a minor consideration when selling a product, at pressure, in glass, to the public.

        So there is some function there too (or at least was in the days before cheap plastic bottles).
    • "If the Mac Mini is covered on top by the MiniMate or the pair are stacked in a rack/cabinet/cubbyhole"

      If the Mac mini is covered on top by the Minimate or the pair are stacked in a rack/cabinet/cubbyhole the Mac mini will die a quick death anyway, so noone will have enough time to think about that issue.

  • Missing Digital Audio In/Out (Score:4, Insightful)

    by j0kkk3l ( 778886 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @09:58AM (#12336535) Homepage
    They really should have included an USB Sounddevice with optical Audio in and out and an analog Audio in. That's really missing.
    Otherwise, this is an expected product.

  • Mildly OT, since no one else has said it yet ... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by David Rolfe ( 38 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @10:22AM (#12336774) Homepage Journal
    Isn't this just an outright advertisement posing as News for Nerds? You think I could get an 'article' into slashdot if it was just touting a 30% sale at DealRam or Newegg or something?

    The only time I would think a product like this was news was if the price was stupidly low. Like ... "new external firewire drive that stacks perfectly with Mini, 3 additional USB2, 2 additional Firewire 400, 250 GB for $99!" Maybe with some more exclamation points so it looks really news-like.

    Sorry for the rant. Glad to see there have been so few dupes (possibly none?!) in the last two weeks. :-)

    • Re:Mildly OT, since no one else has said it yet .. (Score:5, Funny)

      by Golias ( 176380 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @11:15AM (#12337443)
      User #38 and this is the first time you've noticed a blatant Slashvertizement?

      Are you a new user who bought this account from somebody else, or have you simply not been paying any attention?

      • Re:Mildly OT, since no one else has said it yet .. (Score:5, Insightful)

        by David Rolfe ( 38 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @11:45AM (#12337833) Homepage Journal
        Guess you didn't notice the caveat about how no one else has bitched yet.

        Of course it happens regularly, but you have to speak truth to power... You have to stand up and shout "damn you slashdot for posting an advertisement as news!"

        Additionally I'm not even that pissed about the 'ads as news' in and of itself... it's just stupid that it's not even like a newsworthy ad. It's just "ho hum, another external hard-drive that isn't worth it". A dollar per gig?! Even with a 10 dollars worth of USB/FW hubs? It's a fucking travesty. ('Course now I'll get 5 posts saying "it's a great value having those hubs and stuff built into something that costs 50% of the machine in the first place; I'll then have to retort, ad nauseam, about how "it leaves out some of the glaring oversights of the Mini itself, notably, a line in." Why are you going to spend that much money and not want the sockets on the front? )

        Anyway, if you were a subscriber you could see this surely isn't a purchased account, but it's more fun to troll, isn't it? Fortunately your comments usually add to a discussion, so we don't all have to write you off for this one lame post.

        Sorry to rant, I guess you asked for it.
        • It's just "ho hum, another external hard-drive that isn't worth it". A dollar per gig?! Even with a 10 dollars worth of USB/FW hubs? It's a fucking travesty.

          Actually, as somebody who just bought a Firewire hub for his mini (The EyeTV 500 is a terrific gadget for turning the mini into an HDTV PVR, but it doesn't play nice on a Firewire daisy-chain at all!), I would have almost considered buying this thing a couple months ago. I currently have two external drives (a 250 and a 300), both in el-Cheapo Firewi
          • Right on. I totally agree. And it sort of makes my point. Even if you'd bought a name brand enclosure+drive like a Lacie 400gb you could get it for $400 bucks. The insinuation being made by this new product is that the extra 5 ports (which costs them basically nothing to add on)* is worth an extra ONE HUNDRED dollars. You went with a solution that is not only more flexible, and a better cost/value, and has the value add of el gato's goodies (AV in/out), and has higher resale value as well. Sounds to me like

            • Re:Very OT, since no one else has said it yet .. (Score:5, Informative)

              by Golias ( 176380 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @06:02PM (#12342218)
              How does the eyeTV 500 work with the Mini? I've heard the peanut gallery say the Mini doesn't have the horse power to do HD...

              Far exceeds expectations.

              On 1080i broadcasts, there is some (very rare) frame-dropping which can happen during very fast camera-pans, but otherwise it does rather well. Even when it does happen, it's subtle enough that most house-guests don't notice it unless I point it out to them.

              720p broadcasts, such as "Tru Calling" on FOX, play smooth as silk, as long as I'm not running other stuff in the background or moving anything else on the firewire bus.
        • Anyway, if you were a subscriber you could see this surely isn't a purchased account, but it's more fun to troll, isn't it?

          Just curious, how would a subscriber know that account #38 wasn't purchased on ebay?

          Here's your chance to sell me a subscription.

          Oh, and eventually even six digit Slashdot IDs will be desireable.
          • Subscribers can search post histories on accounts all the way back, not the just recent x posts. My post history would definitely show a continuity of personhood as the times when I pipe up are usually about a specific set of topics that I'm not completely ignorant on -- what happens at/inside AOL, owning a Mac, Tivo, or Gamecube, Copyright/Public Domain issues, random joking around about low user ids, whether or not Enterprise sucks in light of BSG, graphics, web-dev, Florida, growing up in the 80s and all

    • Re:Mildly OT, since no one else has said it yet .. (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Kyusaku Natsume ( 1098 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @11:43AM (#12337821)
      Maybe you are right, but this is the first device I see that integrates an USB hub and a Firewire hub (to be honest, I didn't know that it could be done) in a external hard disk enclosure. I live in Mexico, the price for these things are:
      -USB hub: US$ 15 -38
      -160 HD: US$ 90-120
      -FireWire Hub: never seen one here
      -External HD enclosure: US$ 60-100

      Really, the price of this unit is low, if the quality of the enclosure is similar to the case of the Mac mini, then it is cheap.
      • Well it's surely not cheap... because 15 (times 2) plus 90, plus 60 is $180 -- incidentally the price they are selling it for. So this assumes that the manufacturer couldn't get volume discounts or Asian fabrication to reduce costs AT ALL.

        Frankly, going with just the numbers you've given me, I'd say the unit could cost 15 to 20% less than it does. But screw them, let 'the market' decide. If people are willing to pay a dollar per gig just to have 5 extra ports on the back then let them. Just as I prognostic

  • Good idea, but.... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by mblase ( 200735 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @11:02AM (#12337301)
    ...they messed up on one thing. The majority of the USB and FireWire ports should be in the FRONT of the box, not behind it. If you're going to market your hardware as a port expander, the least you should do is make those ports easier to access than the ones already on the CPU box.
    • So mount it backwards.
      • So mount it backwards.

        You skillfully missed the point. Usability-wise, it would make sense to have the power cable and the USB or FireWire cable that connects to the CPU in the back, and the rest of the ports in the front.

        • So mount it backwards.

          You skillfully missed the point. Usability-wise, it would make sense to have the power cable and the USB or FireWire cable that connects to the CPU in the back, and the rest of the ports in the front.

          Well, yes and no. Remember that most of the appeal of this as well as for the Mac Mini itself is about the aesthetics. Many people would probably want the flat clean front of the device that wouldn't be showing a bunch of ports and sockets. For those who aren't as concerned with the

    • Right on the mark. They need to find the idiot designer who decided that putting the logo on the front was more important than putting the hot-swappable device ports on the front and fire his ass.

      Won't it be a great day when the entire industry realizes that aside from power and network stuff, cables that stick out perpendicular to the back of the machine are just a pain in the ass?

  • Performance bonus (Score:3, Interesting)

    by oboylet ( 660310 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @11:15AM (#12337445)
    Since you're getting a 7200 RPM drive you can really get around the Mini's biggest performance headache other than the 256 MB of ram -- its slow-ass laptop drive.

    Mac OS X can boot from any FW HD, so connect your mammoth HD using Firewire, use http://http//www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html [http] Carbon Copy Cloner to move your System folder over, and watch your Mini guzzle NOX.

    Also, its a shame that they don't offer a bare-bones setup with no HD. I'd rather just pull the 160 giger out of my windows box and have the mini take over file serving. Alas.

    It's also worth asking if the pricing makes a lot of sense. Pay $500 for the mini, then another $99 for a ram upgrade, plus $150 or so for the hub. As cool as it is, it's not the most economical venture. And I'm taking for granted a spare USB Keyboard and mouse.

  • I think they should include a KVM. (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jrifkin ( 100192 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @11:21AM (#12337524)
    I think what the Mac Mini really needs is a KVM ability.

    It would be great if I could plop a new MacMini next to my existing PC, plug my current Keyboard,Video,Mouse in the MacMini, and then connect the MacMini to my existing PC. Then I could press the switch on the MacMini and toggle between the two machines.

    I could then have the best of my old and new systems at the same time.

    • Re:I think they should include a KVM. (Score:4, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 25, 2005 @12:34PM (#12338448)
      So then everyone who doesn't need that KVM ability still has to pay for it? Great idea!

      If you're too cheap to buy a USB KVM [newegg.com] and a couple cables (and you're running XP Pro), why don't you just set up your PC so you can operate it via RDC, and use the Mac RDC client? [microsoft.com] Then you can leave the Mac connected to your keyboard, mouse and video, and still use the PC normally. This would work perfectly for pretty much everything except gaming.

  • Does this remind anyone of the 'old' Mac HDs? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by compactable ( 714182 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @12:49PM (#12338631) Homepage
    ... the more things change, the more they stay the same ... http://members.aol.com/suprdave/classiccmp/512_hd2 0.htm [aol.com]

  • logos (Score:3, Interesting)

    by astrodawg ( 54943 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @01:33PM (#12339095)
    I think their name on the front isn't very attractive. Would be nice to find a way to get rid of it.

    If I bought the item, why do they need to continue to advertise to me?

  • Missed the boat; no AV IO. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by lullabud ( 679893 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @03:43PM (#12340476)
    They clearly aren't paying attention to what people who don't already own Apple hardware, and some that do, want. External hard drives and hubs are easy to come by, but a Video IO packaged into a Mac Mini sized device with IR would be *perfect* for all those people looking to turn the Mac Mini into a media center, or generaly integrating it into their AV setup. I'm sure there's a market for this, especially since it adds hard drive space without having to go inside the Mini, but as far as a port replicator solution, it's only got half of the ports that a great many would-be customers would like to see.
  • He's looking to get a Mac Mini, but is afraid that the 40 or 80 GB drive might not hold all his CDs that he plans to rip for iTunes.

    Now with this, he could get more USB ports (I don't think he has many FireWire devices, if any) as well as get a ton of extra storage for his music.

    When I see him online I'll point him to this as a possible external hard drive add on like we had discussed the other day.

  • Ya know.... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by catdevnull ( 531283 ) on Monday April 25, 2005 @05:47PM (#12342031)
    For the price of a *properly outfitted Mini plus the price of this little widget, you could just get either an iBook or maybe even an entry level iMac G5. I'm not saying this isn't filling someone's niche out there, but for the lion's share of users, you might as well get a better processor or go portable if you're starting to get into that kind of spending. But, if your needs are matched up to a Mini (i.e., tight spaces, etc.), then I can see this widget being useful. Otherwise, I think it's more of an accessory than a necessity.

    YMMV.

    *by properly outfitted, I mean a machine that will likely be using those extra ports, etc.-- 1.42 GHZ, superdrive, and 1GB RAM. That, of course, is disputable. If you have to buy a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, then you're really spending some money. Oh, don't forget the "AppleCare" (you might need it!) Now you're looking at ~$1,250.00 (give or take).
    • Properly outfitted?

      Dude, you can get an external DVD burner that's better than a superdrive for less than the cost of adding a superdrive and removing the internal combo... even if Apple does it.

      This little widget costs about $40 more than a comparable firewire external drive. If you need that storage, you need it whether you've got a mini or an iMac G5, so you're not actually able to say "you can get an iMac G5 for less". In fact, if you can get an iMac G5 for the $40 difference between a LaCie external
    • Do that math:
      $500 - Mac mini (w/40GB)
      $75 - additional 512MB RAM
      $25 - bluetooth
      $500 - Minimate with 400 GB
      -----------
      $1100 + S&H for 440GB G4 w/ bluetooth
      So for about $1100 you get a great home media server that is SMALL but has a ton of room for audio and enough for some video until it can be off loaded onto optical media

      or for $200 more ($1300) the iMac G5 with an 80 GB drive. Sure it has a terrific screen, faster processor, but even the yet-to-be-released version is rumored to have 512MB RAM, less t

  • "miniMate" (Score:3, Funny)

    by Frodo Crockett ( 861942 ) on Tuesday April 26, 2005 @12:13AM (#12345102)
    That name makes me picture a very small Australian.
    • The miniMate of George Bush

      Though recently I did see a letter to a Melbourne paper that referred to little Johnny Howard as the "Prime Minature" of Australia, and that has now become my fav descripion of our glorious leader.

  • "This presentation contains content that your browser may not be able to show properly. This presentation was optimized for more recent versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer."

    Fuckin' brilliant ...

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